Because of a Jammed Locker
by gandalf537
Summary: I have to thank the gods that I had the misfortune-and, consequently, fortune-to have a jammed locker today. Frazel oneshot. Mortal AU.
**Hey all, this is just a short Frazel one-shot. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Author's Note: I suck at summaries, give it a read if you like Frazel! Mostly from Hazel's point of view.**

 **The usual disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Frank and Hazel, just the plot. Frank, Hazel, and HoO belong to Rick Riordan, etc., etc..**

HAZEL'S POV

I slam my hand against my locker. Stupid thing is jammed again...ugh. I pound it with my fists, and it finally opens with a bang. I quickly shove my math textbook and the rest of my books into my bag. I sling my bag over my shoulder, grunting under the weight of it. I really need to pack less books… I close my locker carefully, hoping it won't become jammed again. Then I freeze, sensing movement behind me.

I turn slowly, expecting to see his face up in mine. But he's standing a few feet back, two of his cronies grinning menacingly behind him.

"What do you want, Octavian?" I ask, sighing. Octavian O. Racle, one of the biggest idiots New Romalflood High School has ever seen. His idiotic cronies, Michael Vane and Dakota something-I-couldn't-be-bothered to remember, roll their necks.

"I just want to have some fun," Octavian says in a sweet and sarcastic voice. "Like, for example, oh, I don't know, what we usually do after school." He grins, and I gulp. Usually this include beating me up, physically and mentally. Of course, I always fight back, but I can hardly do anything against the power of all three of them. I glance out the doors to my left-the buses are pulling away. Great. Mom is _so_ gonna kill me, she has a big show tonight.

"Go away, Octavian," I say, trying to shove past him. If I leave now, I could probably run home in time. Why did I have to pack so many books?

"No," he says, his fist hitting the locker next to me, trapping me where I am. "We're going to have some fun." Octavian raises the arm not against the locker. I brace myself for his first hit, squeezing my eyes shut. But the first hit never comes.

I open my eyes and see Octavian up against the lockers across the hall. A burly black-haired guy I don't know has him by the throat.

"You leave her alone!" the boy shouts. I recognize his voice-I do know him. Frank Zhang, two years older than me, a Chinese-Canadian transfer student. I've had a crush on him since I was in third grade(that was before I skipped two grades), when he was in fifth, the same as Octavian at the time. Again, he yelled at Octavian, who was two years older than me, for teasing me about my looks. Brown skin, crazy brown hair just a smidge lighter, who wouldn't have teased me? But Frank stood up with me, and I've always liked him from afar. Since he was two years older than me, I didn't think he ever would've noticed me.

Michael and Dakota rush at him. Frank drops Octavian and punches the first to reach him, Dakota, in the face. His muscles ripple and Dakota drops like a marionette whose strings were cut-and I know a lot about what that looks like. Octavian clutches at his throat, gasping for breath, but I don't feel sorry for him. Frank drops Michael after a couple punches, then goes at Octavian.

"What did she ever do to you?" he yells. Octavian just looks confused. "What did she ever do to you?" Frank repeats. Octavian considers him for a moment, and me in the background, watching.

"Looks like you've got yourself a protector, Levesque," he says sarcastically. "How much did you have to pay him with those fake gems of yours to get him to stay after school?"

"I didn't pay him anything," I say weakly.

"She didn't pay me anything," Frank confirms. He takes a step towards Octavian, who cowers and presses his back up against the lockers. "I was helping a teacher with something, and I missed my bus," Frank continues. "Glad I did," he adds. "So I'll repeat my question-what did she ever do to you?"

"Well, it's rather the fact that she's _there_ , if you get what I mean," Octavian says. "I could use someone like you, someone better to be my muscle." Frank considers this for a minute, and then punches Octavian square in the jaw.

Octavian gives an outraged cry and ducks under Frank's arm. He kicks Frank behind the knees, causing his legs to buckle. Then he runs at me-I twirl out of the way and he slams into the locker at full speed. I grab his collar and slam his head against the locker again. Octavian slumps against the locker, awake and clutching his head.

"Are you okay?" I ask Frank, reaching out a hand to help him up. He takes it and holds on to it for a moment too long, then drops it, blushing. He brushes some dirt off his coat.

"Fine," he says. "You?" I nod.

"That was some work," he says, regarding Octavian.

"I could say the same to you," I respond, grinning. "Did you really miss your bus on accident?"

Frank shakes his head. "I saw him sneaking towards you and figured he was up to something," he explains. "Glad I stayed."

"Me, too," I say honestly. "Otherwise I would still have to deal with him."

Franks nods. "Should we get out of here before they wake up?" he asks.  
"Sure," I say. "Guess I have to walk home now."

"I'll come with you," he offers. "I don't have anywhere to be."

"Thanks," I say, smiling, not believing my incredible luck.

We walk out the door together. My walk home isn't that long, only a mile or two. We have to cross several bridges and a park to get there. On one of the bridges, there's no sidewalk, so instead of risking the road we risk walking on the railing of the bridge. Of course, a semi-truck had to choose that moment to go whizzing by, and I just had to fall off. Frank lunges for my hand, and ends up coming down five feet into the knee-deep water with me. We both come up laughing, spitting water out of our mouths, soaking wet.

"Do you remember fifth grade?" Frank asks as we clamber out of the river. I think back. Fifth grade was the year before I skipped ahead two grades, going from the end of fifth right to the beginning of eighth. "Sorry," Frank explains. "I mean, you would've been in third grade. I was in fifth." Of course I remember. That was the year Frank first helped me out with Octavian. I nod, not sure where this was going.

"You remember Octavian?" I nod again.

"When I saw him teasing you-you were only nine, and he was eleven, and I really saw red. And then-then he looked like he was going to hit you, and then-" Frank stops and laughs. "Then you stomped on his foot and he howled, literally howled. And then he went right back to teasing you, and I-I saw red, I really saw red."

"You charged at him like an angry bull," I remember, smiling at the memory. Frank nods.

"I-I didn't do it because I was mad. Well, of course I was mad, but I-I did it because-because-" he stops walking and talking and takes a shaky breath. I stop walking, too, and wait for him to finish.

"Man, am I bad at this," he says to himself. "I did it because I like you," he says eventually. A million fireworks go off in my brain as I realize what he's saying.

"What?" I say, not believing that Frank Zhang, _the_ Frank Zhang, that every girl freshman year likes, is telling me that he likes _me_.

His face falls, he's getting it the wrong way.  
"I-I understand if you don't like me back," he says, stuttering.

"No," I say, reassuring him and grinning. "I totally do."

"You do?" he says, his face lighting up. "Well that's-that's great! That's-"

"Ama _zhang_ ," I say, and he laughs at my pun. "But I have to go. My mom is gonna kill me."

He nods seriously. "My grandmother, too. So...see you tomorrow?" he asks hopefully.

"Tomorrow's Saturday," I remind him.

"Starbucks, two o'clock?" he asks. I grin as I realize he's asking me out.

"It's a date," I confirm. He grins again. "Thanks for helping me out with Octavian," I say. He nods.

"My pleasure," he says, then waves and runs in the direction of his house. I grin and turn towards mine, not believing that _Frank Zhang_ just asked me out. I wring out my hair, my clothes still dripping water, and thank the gods that I had the misfortune-and, consequently, fortune-to have my locker be jammed today.

 **Yeah, that's it, don't hate me, I know it's short. Check out my latest Percabeth oneshot, "Spring Break: A Percabeth Oneshot"(what a creative name), as well as some of my other Harry Potter type stuff. Thanks for giving it a read, sorry if it was bad, I'm not super good at romance type stuff. See you all around Fanfic-land!**


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